Friday, October 23, 2015

You've never encountered Halloween pumpkins quite like this. Descanso Gardens' annual Rise of the Jack O'Lanterns experience is a walk through some of the spookiest, weirdest, most elaborate and just plain cool pumpkins you'll see anywhere this time of year.

Yes, that includes a Taylor Swift pumpkin (above), which for my money is the scariest of them all.

Above, Jimmy Kimmel.

So what is The Rise? Per the site: "The Rise is a unique and iconic family friendly fall event featuring more than 5,000 hand-carved illuminated jack o'lanterns crafted by professional artists and sculptors and arranged in creative displays along a 1/3-mile scenic walking trail, all set to an original music score produced exclusively for The Rise."

Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton.

More details: "New themes this year include a safari with larger-than-life animals carved from dozens of jack o'lanterns, an auto show featuring classic cars that have been re-imagined in a new way, and a dragon that's over 50 feet long and contains hundreds of jacks! You'll also see our talented artists hand-paint and hand-carve the images of some of your favorite TV and movie stars into giant 100 pound pumpkins at our live carving station!"

William and Kate!

The Rise says it has to rotate in new pumpkins all month to replace rotted ones. But they also "use carvable foam pumpkins, called Funkins, as well because they last longer. All 5,000 of our Jack O'Lanterns are hand-carved by our talented staff of carvers."

The Rise continues through Nov. 1 at Descanso Gardens. More info here. And now, more photos!